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TORONTO - For the first time in three days, the most turbulent 72 hours of his life, Jonas Valanciunas was able to find an escape, an outlet for his ranging emotions. "Its been a rough couple days," the Raptors centre admitted following Wednesdays game, speaking with the media for the first time since he was arrested for drunk driving earlier this week. He was unable to address the incident directly, as he has yet to meet with his lawyers. "I found the power, found the energy to come out [and] fight," he continued. "I felt really good [because of the] fan support, thank you to them. That felt great, because everybody supported me. I say sorry and [am] learning. Ill be better." Valanciunas wasnt sure how he would be received by the teams fans, feeling he had disappointed them, just as they did not know what to expect from him, returning to the court in the aftermath of Monday mornings events. "Honestly, he was going to play like trash or he was going to play amazing," said Kyle Lowry after Torontos 125-114 win over the 76ers. "He played amazing, like we expected." The 21-year-old sophomore would go on to score a career-best 26 points to go along with 12 rebounds, hitting 10 of his 14 shots in 37 minutes of action. Once the ball was thrown up, and for the two and a half hours that followed, the only thing that was on his mind was the task at hand. "Its a tough situation for him to handle, to be going through," Lowry added, "but this is our sanctuary: basketball. We get a chance to be away from everything. Basketball is like our space, our secret spot and thats where guys can release a lot of energy and intensity." Scoring the first four points of the game, Valanciunas came out with a fire, a purpose and an air of confidence. He has been playing some of the best basketball of his career and those off-court distractions could not derail him. Leading the team with 23 double-doubles after recording just eight a year ago, Valanciunas has played 30 or more minutes and scored in double figures in eight straight games, matching a season-high. The biggest difference has been his comfort level and self-assurance, according to his teammates. The game has slowed down for him, hes playing with patience and most importantly hes not getting down on himself. "[Hes] much more aggressive, much hungrier," said Lowry. "He wants the ball. Tonight he was literally yelling at me to give him the ball." "He came up big," DeMar DeRozan stated. "That just shows you hes not letting everything else affect him, everything thats going on or the situation that happened. Hes just going out and playing. He did what he did, its over with, he apologized to us and he understands whats at stake and that we need him." His big night couldnt have come at a better time. Valanciunas has some work to do. He knows this. On top of learning from his error in judgment, hell have to win back the fans he let down. Wednesdays performance was the first step in turning the page. Lowrys return Although Lowry eased into his return from a three-game absence, sidelined with a bruised left kneecap, he more than made his presence felt when his team needed him most. The Raptors starting point guard recorded four assists before attempting his first shot late in the opening quarter. By the second half he was up to his old tricks. Lowry scored 19 of his game-high 29 points in the final 24 minutes, including 10 in the fourth quarter. "I was happy to be back there with my teammates, to be honest," he said after the game. "When you miss games you feel like youre letting your team down but it was great to be back out there with the fellas." Prior to the game, Dwane Casey indicated there would be no restriction on Lowrys usage and sure enough he played the entire first quarter and logged 38 minutes on the night. "[The week off] definitely helped my body rest but a week doesnt do anything," Lowry said. "Its going to take two months for me to actually be normally healthy again." Amir Johnson got another precautionary night off, missing his third straight contest with a lingering right ankle injury, though he could have played if necessary and shouldnt be out much longer. Nearing division title With Torontos victory and the Nets loss in Orlando, the Raptors are now one win - or Brooklyn defeat - away from clinching their second division title in franchise history. They can wrap up the Atlantic crown while also matching a franchise-record 47th win of the season in front of their home crowd on Friday when they host the Knicks. The stat The Raptors are a perfect 10-0 in games without at least one of their five starters (Lowry, DeRozan, Johnson, Valanciunas or Terrence Ross) this season. The quote "Our guys see the computers, they see the standings and the records but we cant play that way," Casey said of the teams defensive slippage, after allowing the lowly 76ers to score 114 points on 52 per cent shooting. "I just told them that weve got to pick our defence up and not have the mental letdowns that were having defensively. Its nothing that we havent seen before or any new trick plays. Its just one-on-one defence, blow-bys, our feet in the sand. There is a slippage." Wholesalle Nike Sb China . So far, so good: Gonzalez has allowed one run through 12 innings this season. His second start came Tuesday night, when he gave up only three singles over six innings to lead the Nationals to a 5-0 victory over the Miami Marlins. Cheap Nike Sb China . 4 jersey of former defenseman Rob Blake this coming season. The ceremony will take place prior to the Kings January 17 game against Anaheim. http://www.wholesalenikesb.com/ .Y. - The New York Islanders are brimming with confidence these days, thanks to a standout goalie and a newfound winning attitude. Cheap Nike Sb Free Shipping . -- Masahiro Tanaka knows that first appearance in a spring training game for the New York Yankees will be scrutinized. Nike Sb Clearance . Striker Dario Mandzukic scored the opener in the 22nd minute but was given a red card nine minutes later for a reckless tackle and left Croatia with 10 men for the remainder of the match.SAN ANTONIO - San Antonio forward Kawhi Leonard did not play Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers, giving Kobe Bryant one less obstacle in his pursuit of Michael Jordan on the career scoring list.Leonard, a member of the All-Defensive second team last season, missed his second straight game with a bruised right hand.Bryant needed 30 points in the game to tie Jordan for third place with 32,292 points.Bryant is second in the league at 25.5 points per game, but had a season-low nine points on 1-of-14 shooting in a 93-80 home loss to San Antonio on Nov. 14.Leonard was a primary factor in Bryants struggles that evening. The 6-foot-7 small forward has become the Spurs primary defender, guarding the oppositionss high-scoring wings such as Bryant and LeBron James.ddddddddddddith Leonard out, the task of trying to stop Bryant was expected to fall on a combination of Danny Green, Manu Ginobili and Marco Belinelli. But stopping players like Bryant and Jordan is impossible regardless of who is defending them, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said.You dont stop guys like that, Popovich said. You have to make them work hard for everything they get. You hope they have a bad night, that sort of stuff. There is nothing you can really do to stop somebody cold. If you take the ball away from them for a while, they figure out how to use their teammates to try to win a basketball game. Theyre special people. 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